Cutting attachment for use with the mold board



c. s. BASHAM 3,302,671

CUTTING ATTACHMENT FOR USE WITH THE MOLD BOARD Feb, 7, 1967 2 SheetsSheet 1 Filed April 6, 1964 INVENTOR Cloyeafi S. Bashum BY \zz ATTORNEY Feb. 7, 1%? c. s. BASHAM 3 CUTTING ATTACHMENT FOR USE WITH THE MOLD BOARD Filed April 6, 1964. 2 Shee1s$heet 2 [M I INVENTOR zCloyes? S. Boshom \f) f1 f1 f) AHA/10f (LA/If) HAHML Fig. 8 BY ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,302,671 CUTTING ATTACHIVTENT EUR USE WITH THE MGLD BUARD Cloyed S. Basharn, 10661 Newliirlr, Dallas, Tex. 75228 Filed Apr. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 357,584 (Balms. (Cl. 144-34) The present invention relates to apparatus that is useful for clearing the underbrush and timber from land and, more particularly, to a clearing blade that can be used with a standard, straight mold board to efliciently and economically remove undesired vegetation.

In many instances it is necessary to remove undesirable underbrush and timber from virgin land or land that has lain dormant for a suificiently long period of time that a substantial amount of vegetation is present. In most instances, the vegetation is removed preparatory to excavating work, if construction is anticipated, planting permanent pasture, or leveling operations if the land is to be used for agricultural purposes. Obviously, it would be very advantageous if substantially the same equipment could be used, for example, in both the clearing and leveling operations. Also, it would be very desirable if the same equipment could not only be used for clearing the land but also for stacking the brush which has been cleared and for turning the piles of brush as they are burned to assure that substantially complete burning is accomplished.

A caterpillar-type tractor equipped with a mold board is usually used to perform the clearing, leveling or excavating operations, as the case may be. However, since the mold board is designed primarily for earth moving operations, the blade is necessarily solid. When the mold board is used to perform clearing operations, the blade will pick up a load of dirt as well as the brush or the vegetation that is being cleared and deposit the dirt or a substantial portion thereof with the undesired vegetation that is being cleared from the land.

This is undesirable from several aspects. First, it is common to dispose of the undesired vegetation by burning, and the presence of dirt in the stacks of brush and timber slows the burning operation. Second, the deposition of dirt into what may be piles of substantial size tends to increase the difficulty of the leveling of excavating operations and also reduces the usefulness of the land for permanent pasture. The third factor to be considered is in those instances where the land is to be used for agricultural purposes. Most soil removed and placed in the piles is the more desirable top soil and leaf mold which i should be left in place.

In my Patent No. 3,084,727, which issued April 9, 1963, there is disclosed an improved cutting attachment for use with a mold board in clearing land. This cutting attachment provided several important advantages over previous apparatus for clearing land. It could be attached to the strai ht mold board of the type most frequently used, it was light and did not unduly burden the tractor thereby reducing maintenance on the tractor and, in addition, it could be easily moved. However, the blade described in my Patent No. 3,084,727 was still subject to certain disadvantages. Thus, because of the manner in which it was attached to the mold board, it was not practical to out while the tree was moving backwards and, accordingly, the rear side of the blade was not sharpened. Moreover, the above identified blade depended for its operation upon the presence of exceedingly good fit between the mold board and the cutting attachment. In the course of use, even the very heavy steel used in the construction of the blade would tend to be deformed under the strains imposed as a re a sult of the clearing operations, and over a period of time the blade would loosen.

The present invention constitutes an improvement over the blade described in my Patent No. 3,084,727. In accordance with the present invention, a plurality of big members having rearwardly extending portions are provided. Each of the rearwardly extending portions conforms to the underside of the mold board and are substantially coextensive therewith. A series of bracket members are permanently ailixed to the mold board .such that they do not in any manner adversely affect the operation of the mold board when it is used for purposes other than clearing. Adjustable means are used for connecting the rearwardly extending portions of the cutting attachment to these brackets. Thereafter, the adjustable members can be tightened to insure that a tight fit is maintained between the rearwardly extending portions and the bottom of the mold board, preventing damage to the cutting attachment as would be caused by wear as a result of loosening.

The additional support provided by the brackets in conjunction with the manner in which the rearwardly extending portions conform to the bottom of the mold board also make is feasible to provide a cutting edge on both the front and back of the cutting blade such that it is possible to cut with the tractor going either forward or in reverse.

It will be noted that due to the manner in which the cutting attachment fits the mold board, the stresses placed on the adjustable members and bolts are relatively small when cutting in either direction.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a saw-like member which extends to the rearward of a wedge-shaped member which is used for splitting trees. The saw-type member in conjunction with the wedge-type member makes it practical to cut trees of virtually any size. Any time a pass is made, the saw will make the cut depending upon the thickness of the saw, and the wedge-type member will split that much of the tree off which will fall away. It has been, therefore, found possible with this improved cutting attachment to cut trees 48 inches and more in diameter using a relatively small crawler tractor.

Many objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the following detailed description unfolds when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein like reference numerals denote like parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view illustrating the cutting attachment of the present invention attached to a straight mold board;

FIGURE 2 is a view, partially in cross section, taken along line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view, partially in cross section, taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of one of the supports used in practicing the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a front elevational view of an adjustable member used in practicing the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation view of the member shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation view of an exterior support used in practicing the invention;

FIGURE 8 is a side elevation view of an exterior support shaped to define a stinger for splitting trees; and

FIGURE 9 is a plan view of the cutting attachment of the present invention.

Turning now to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, the cutting attachment of the present invention is denoted generally by the reference numeral 10 and is shown attached to a conventional straight mold board 12. The cutting attachment comprises a mounting plate 14, a plurality of vertically disposed spaced apart supports 16-26 attached to and depending downwardly from mounting plate 14 and a horizontally disposed cutting blade 28 attached to and supported by each of said supports. The attachment is secured to the mold board 12 by bolts 13 passing through opening in the mounting plate 14 and the mold board.

Each of the supports 1824 are of the same general configuration, the principal difference being the distance they extend forward of the mold board or mounting plate 14 as shown in FIGURE 9. Thus, as shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, they each include a depending portion which is connected at it lower extremity to the upper surface of the cutting blade 28, a rearwardly extending portion 32 which conforms to the bottom surfaces 33 of the mold board and a rearwardly extending portion 4 of relatively small cross section which is connected to and supports the mounting plate 14. The portion 34 is of much smaller cross section than the portion 32 at the juncture therebetween. A reentrant opening 36 is defined by the mounting plate 14 and the rearwardly extending portion 32. The reentrant opening 36 is shaped to conform to the shape of the bottom portion 38 of the mold board 12 when the cutting edge 40 is attached thereto.

As mentioned previously, the rearwardly extending portion 32 conforms to the bottom surface 33 of the mold board and is contiguous thereto. Wherever practical, the rearwardly extending portion 32 extends somewhat past the bottom of the mold board shown in FIGURE 2. A bracket member 58 is suitably attached to the back of the mold board at a point above the rearwardly extending portion 32. The bracket St is connected to the rearwardly extending portion 32 by an adjustable member 52. The adjustable member 52 is suitably as shown in FIGURES 5 and 6 and can be seen to comprise a large stud member 54 whose diameter is substantially the same as the thickness of the material used to form the rearwardly extending portion 32. A pair of parallel disposed plate members 56, each of which has an opening 58 formed therein, are connected, suitably by welding, to the stud member 54. The stud member 54 passes through an opening 60 in the bracket 50 and pin 62 which passes through the openings 58 and opening 59 in the rearwardly extending portion 32 which is suitably used for connecting the adjustable member 52 to the rearwardly extending portion 32. Thereafter, nuts 64 can be tightened to draw the upper portion of the rearwardly extending portion 32 tightly against the bottom portion of the mold board 12.

It is usually not possible to connect the rearwardly extending portion 32 of all of the legs 13-24 to the mold board as shown in FIGURE 2, due to the presence of various items of structure used in connecting the mold board to the tractor controlling the position of the mold board. Thus, it is practical to connect certain of the rearwardly extending portions 32 to the mold board 12 as shown in FIGURE 3. Thus, a member is welded to the bottom surface of the mold board 12 with one of the members 70 being positioned on each side of the rearwardly extending portion 32. A slot 72 is formed in the rearwardly extending portion 32 through which a plate member 74 passes. Plate member 74 is formed with two openings, each of which is sized to accept a stud 76 which engages a threaded opening provided in the member 70. When the two studs 76 are tightened, the rearwardly extending portion 32 will be drawn tightly against the bottom surface 33 of the mold board 12.

As shown in FIGURES 7 and 8, the side supports 16 and 26 are substantially as described with reference to my Patent No. 3,084,727. A reentrant opening 84 is provided between the rearwardly extending portions and 82, respectively, and mounting plate 14 which conform to the end member 86 of the dozer. The end members 86 extend into the re-entrant opening 84 with the rearwardly extending portions 80 and 82 contiguous to the bottom 88 of the end members. Adjustable members 52, in conjunction with bracket members 50, are used for connecting the rearwardly extending portions 80 and 82 to the back of the mold board and drawing the rearwardly extending portions tight against the bottom of the end members.

As best seen by reference to FIGURE 9, the back edge 90 of the cutting blade 28 is straight. The front edge 92 of that portion of the blade 28 carried by supports 16, 18 and 29 is substantially parallel to the rear of the cutting edge, but approximately the remaining forty per cent, indicated by the reference character 94, of the front edge slopes forward at an angle of 10 with respect to the rear cutting edge. The extreme right portion 96 of the blade is suitably curved to provide a smooth transition from the support member 26 to the cutting blade. The support member 26 extends forward of the cutting edge of the blade 28 and is sharpened in the manner of a wedge at 98 as shown. A saw member 100 is connected to the support 26 as shown.

It will be seen that each of the support members 16-26 are aligned with the general direction which the blade travels. However, each of the support members 1626 are of a different length such that the rear edge of the cutting blade slants to the rear at an angle of 15 of the line normal to the direction of travel. The right hand portion of the front edge of the blade is therefore maintained at an angle of 25 of the line normal to the direction of travel. It has been found that such choice of angles provides the optimum cutting action without placing the weight of the blade unduly forward.

Having now described the structure provided by the present invention, the mode of operation and advantages over the prior art will be explained. It will be seen that the plurality of slots provide openings through which valuable top soil and leaf mold which may be picked up with the blade can pass, but the supports act as a rake to carry the brush which has been cut. The blade can therefore be used both for cutting, stock piling or stacking, and during the burning operations, all similar to the cutting attachment disclosed in my afore-mentioned patent application.

In the course of cutting small trees, up to 18" to 20" in diameter, the operation is the same as that described previously in my aforesaid application in that the mold board is raised to carry the cutting blade 28 at a level very slightly above the ground level. As the tractor moves forward, the trees of this size will be sheared off substantially even with the ground. However, due to the specific angle at which the blade is disposed, it is possible to cut much larger than was practical with my aforesaid cutting blade in which the blade was disposed substantially normal to the direction of movement.

The utilization of the adjustable members which maintain the rearwardly extending portions tightly against the bottom of the mold board provides several very important advantages over my earlier cutting blade wherein the cutting attachment was held to the mold board using only bolts which pass through openings normally used for attaching the cutting edge.

Of great importance, in the course of operations using the older blade, the supports would tend to become deformed and the reentrant opening would be enlarged. As a result of this enlargement, the blade would tend to work on the mold board either causing the blade to dig into the ground or resulting in the breaking of the bolts or breaking of the supports. This action is prevented by the present invention in that by periodically tightening the adjustable members, the rearwardly extending portions are at all times maintained tight against the bottom surface of the mold board.

Of equally great importance, the provision of the adjustable members which connect the rearwardly extending portions to the mold board to maintain the rearwardly extending portions tight against the bottom of the mold board renders it necessary to utilize only a small number of the holes which are used for attaching the cutting edge to the mold board, making it practical for the present cutting attachment to fit over the mold board with the regular cutting edge remaining in place, thereby considerably simplifying the operations required in the course of converting the tractor from earth clearing to earth moving operations.

Thirdly, the provision of the adjustable members renders it possible for the cutting operations to be conducted while the tractor is moving either forward or in reverse. As shown in FIGURE 2, when the blade is used for cutting, forces will be produced against the blade in a direction parallel to the blade and opposite to the direction of travel. Thus, as the blade is moving forward, the forces will be directed against the front edges of the blade, causing the blade to tend to pivot in a counterclockwise direction about the point X. Rearwardly extending portion 32 will bear against the entire bottom of the mold board distributing these forces along the greater length of the rearwardly extending portion 32, reducing the tendency for the opening 36 to be enlarged.

When the tractor is moving in reverse and cutting operations are being performed, forces will be directed forward, causing the blade to tend to move forward and at the same time pivot about the point X in a clockwise direction. It can be seen that the stud members 54 are subjected to a tensional strain rather than shear action with the large mass of metal comprising the rearwardly extending portion 32 being the only portion of the apparatus which is subject to a shear stress. Because of the relatively long moment arm through which the forces exerted by the adjusting members 52 act, it is possible to exert extremely large forces upon the rear cutting edge without damage to the adjusting members, the mold board or the supports.

It is therefore equally practical to out moving forward or in reverse. This is extremely important as often times in cutting small underbrush which may only be 1" to 3 0r 4" in diameter. Growth of this size tends to bend under the blade rather than be cut. However, with the present invention, if it appears that this is happening, the operator can place the tractor in reverse and with the tractor and the cutting blade moving in a direction opposite that in which the growth is bent, extremely good cutting action is achieved. Thus, by providing a blade which can be used in a practical manner for cutting when the tractor is driven in reverse, one of the problems which has plagued the tree clearing industry has been solved.

The addition of the saw makes it possible to clear eX- tremely large trees in a manner much more expeditious than that possible with my earlier invention. Thus, in accordance with the wedge member provided in my earlier patent, the wedge member was barely used to chip away a large tree and splinter it until it could be out by the blade. In accordance with the present invention, the saw is mounted on the side of the wedge-shaped stinger on the cutting blade. When a large tree of say 4' in diameter is encountered, the blade is driven past the tree such that the stinger or Wedge portion barely contacts the tree, causing the saw to make a cut equal to the width of the saw. This is suitably in the order of 16'. The tractor can then be placed in reverse and thereafter again driven toward the tree with the wedge-shaped stinger positioned to strike the tree at a depth to split away the upper portion of the tree which had been sawed previously. Thus, on the second pass of the tree, the wedgeshaped portion will split away approximately 16" of the tree and the saw will make another cut of approximately 16'. Thus, it is seen that each time the saw is caused to make a out except the initial one, the stinger will cooperate with the saw to split off that portion which had previously been sawed as the saw makes a fresh cut. It

6 will also be apparent that in extremely large trees it may be desirable to cut from more than one side of the tree. In any event, the saw can either be used to completely cut the tree down or can be used to reduce the tree to a size which the blade can expeditiously handle.

It will therefore be seen that the cooperation between the saw and the wedge member makes it possible for the cutting attachment provided by the present invention to clear or remove trees of extremely large size. The ability of the blade to cut moving either forward or in reverse minimizes the time required to accomplish complete clearing as it is not necessary to turn the tractor around to make a second pass at trees not cut on the first pass. Further, it will be seen that substantial shear stresses are not imposed upon either the bolts which pass through the mounting plate or the adjusting members during the sawing or cutting operations.

Although the invention has been described with reference to particular preferred embodiments thereof, many changes and modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art. The invention is, therefore, to be limited only as necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An attachment for use with a bulldozer having a straight moldboard that comprises:

(a) a mounting plate having a plurality of bolt holes positioned for alignment with selected bolt holes normally used for attaching a cutting edge to said moldboard whereby said mounting plate can be attached to said moldboard;

(b) a plurality of depending members, each of said depending members including a forwardly extending portion, and two diverging rearwardly extending portions, one of said rearwardly extending portions being of greater cross section than the other at the junction therebetween;

(c) means connecting the other of said rearwardly extending portions to the front of said mounting plate whereby a reentrant opening is defined between the rear of said mounting plate and each of said one rearwardly extending portions;

(d) each of said reentrant openings being of a shape whereby when said mounting plate is attached to said moldboard the lower front portion of said moldboard extends into said reentrant openings and said rearwardly extending portion abuts against a bottom surface of said moldboard;

(e) adjustable means for drawing said rearwardly extending portions tightly against the abutting portion of said moldboard;

(f) a cutting blade having a rear cutting edge and a front cutting edge; and

(g) means connecting the lower extremity of each of said depending members to the cutting blade for supporting said cutting blade in a horizontal plane below the bottom of said moldboard;

(h) the forwardly extending portions of said depending members being of variable length whereby at least a portion of said front cutting edge and said rear cutting edge is disposed at an angle to the line :of travel.

2. An attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein the forwardly extending portions of said depending members are of variable length whereby at least a portion of said front cutting edge and said rear cutting edge is disposed at an angle of approximately 15 with the line of travel.

3. An attachment as defined in claim 1 further including a saw member carried by the depending member of greatest length, said saw member and said cutting blade being disposed in substantially the same plane and positioned on opposite sides of said depending member of greatest length.

4. A cutting attachment as defined in claim 3 wherein said cutting blade is shaped to define a substantially straight rear cutting edge and wherein one side of said front cutting edge is substantially parallel to the rear cutting edge, an intermediate portion of said front cutting edge is at an angle of approximately 10 to said one side, and the other side of said front cutting edge is at an angle of approximately 10 to said one side and terminated at its end in an arcuate portion 5. An attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein said adjustable means comprises: i

(a) a threaded stud of a diameter substantially the same as the thickness of said rearwardly extending portion; (b) a pair of parallel plates fixed to one end of said stud; (c) pin means passing through said pair of plates and Wardly extending portion positioned between said pair of plates; and

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Loftin et al 14434 Schnore 144-34 Basham 14434 Andrews 144-34 said rearwardly extending portion with said rear- 15 DONALD R. SCHRAN, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ATTACHMENT FOR USE WITH A BULLDOZER HAVING A STRAIGHT MOLDBOARD THAT COMPRISES: (A) A MOUNTING PLATE HAVING A PLURALITY OF BOLT HOLES POSITIONED FOR ALIGNMENT WITH SELECTED BOLT HOLES NORMALLY USED FOR ATTACHING A CUTTING EDGE TO SAID MOLDBOARD WHEREBY SAID MOUNTING PLATE CAN BE ATTACHED TO SAID MOLDBOARD; (B) A PLURALITY OF DEPENDING MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID DEPENDING MEMBERS INCLUDING A FORWARDLY EXTENDING PORTION, AND TWO DIVERGING REARWARDLY EXTENDING PORTIONS, ONE OF SAID REARWARDLY EXTENDING PORTIONS BEING OF GREATER CROSS SECTION THAN THE OTHER AT THE JUNCTION THEREBETWEEN; (C) MEANS CONNECTING THE OTHER OF SAID REARWARDLY EXTENDING PORTIONS TO THE FRONT OF SAID MOUNTING PLATE WHEREBY A REENTRANT OPENING IS DEFINED BETWEEN THE REAR OF SAID MOUNTING PLATE AND EACH OF SAID ONE REARWARDLY EXTENDING PORTIONS; (D) EACH OF SAID REENTRANT OPENINGS BEING OF A SHAPE WHEREBY WHEN SAID MOUNTING PLATE IS ATTACHED TO SAID MOLDBOARD THE LOWER FRONT PORTION OF SAID MOLDBOARD EXTENDS INTO SAID REENTRANT OPENINGS AND SAID REARWARDLY EXTENDING PORTION ABUTS AGAINST A BOTTOM SURFACE OF SAID MOLDBOARD; (E) ADJUSTABLE MEANS FOR DRAWING SAID REARWARDLY EXTENDING PORTIONS TIGHTLY AGAINST THE ABUTTING PORTION OF SAID MOLDBOARD; (F) A CUTTING BLADE HAVING A REAR CUTTING EDGE AND A FRONT CUTTING EDGE; AND (G) MEANS CONNECTING THE LOWER EXTREMITY OF EACH OF SAID DEPENDING MEMBERS TO THE CUTTING BLADE FOR SUPPORTING SAID CUTTING BLADE IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE BELOW THE BOTTOM OF SAID MOLDBOARD; (H) THE FORWARDLY EXTENDING PORTIONS OF SAID DEPENDING MEMBERS BEING OF VARIABLE LENGTH WHEREBY AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID FRONT CUTTING EDGE AND SAID REAR CUTTING EDGE IS DISPOSED AT AN ANGLE TO THE LINE OF TRAVEL. 